USS Iowa Arrives Off Coast Of Los Angeles
LOS ANGELES (CBS) — The USS Iowa has arrived off the coast of the Port of Los Angeles, where the country's last World War II-era battleship will become a floating museum.
The 887-foot, 45,000-ton ship, which left Richmond, Calif. Saturday morning, arrived at dawn Wednesday morning. It will now be anchored for cleaning before it docks June 2.
KNX 1070's Pete Demetriou reports the USS Iowa — which was built in 1943 and decommissioned in 1990 — served in World War II as well as the Korean and Gulf wars.
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The Pacific Battleship Center raised $8 million to preserve the ship so its rich history can be shared with the public, according to president Robert Kent.
The museum will include a tour of the captain's cabin where President Franklin D. Roosevelt once stayed for 33 days.
"President Roosevelt did use the ship as a means of travel and he had a bathtub put on the ship. It's the only ship in the United States Navy with a bathtub in it," veteran Bryan Moss tells CBS2.
Presidents Ronald Reagan and George H. W. Bush also spent time on the ship.
Tours are expected to begin July 7.
